


A Galactic Feeling

by tiedyeflag



Category: No Straight Roads (Video Game)
Genre: 1010 being annoying teenage boys, Babysitting, Fluff, M/M, brief mention of alcohol, neon j being a dad to 1010, nova finally gets over himself, the old men are gayyyyy for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27665767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiedyeflag/pseuds/tiedyeflag
Summary: Over a series of events, Supernova grows closer and even fond of Neon J.
Relationships: 1010 & Neon J. (No Straight Roads), DJ Subatomic Supernova/Neon J.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 227





	A Galactic Feeling

**Author's Note:**

> No beta WE DIE LIKE MEN  
> also I love these two old men object heads
> 
> here's to hoping I get the chance to explore their dynamic more in the future :)

DJ Subatomic Supernova sighed as he adjusted his headphones around his neck. It had been an especially long, boring meeting with Tatiana and the rest of NSR, and he was ready to return home and pursue his more important, interesting endeavors. That satellite wouldn’t rebuild itself after all. Besides, he’d had enough company for one day. Anyone who wasn’t him he regarded as a simpleton, and he could only handle their presence for so long. He preferred his own company over theirs any day.

Today, as he made his way down the NSR tower, he heard a faint, steady rumbling from outside the walls. He had already slowed down as to be apart from the rest of his coworkers as they all walked down the stairs (the stupid elevator was out of commission, oh goodie), but he paused to listen. He internally scowled when he recognized the sound, and almost sighed yet again as the view from a window confirmed his suspicions; the pitter-patter was that of steady, heavy raindrops hitting the tower.

Thank goodness he had a limo driver to take him home.

By the time he had reached the base of the tower, everyone had already left in their respective vehicles or chauffeurs. Before Nova dared to step out into the rain, he scanned the curb for his limo.

Great, his ride was late. What nitwit would be late picking him, THE DJ Subatomic Supernova?

He plopped down on a bench in the lobby and pulled out his phone. He was still deciding whether to call and complain to his limo driver or to play music to pass the time when he heard his name.

“DJ Nova?” came the autotuned voice.

Nova looked up to see Neon J standing before him, hands squarely on his hips. “For the umpteenth time, it’s DJ Subatomic Supernova.”

Neon’s radar pinged at that, as if in annoyance. “And what are you still doing here, soldier?”

“I could ask you the same thing,”

“Answer the question, soldier!”

He sighed. “My limo is late, and even a cretin knows it’s better to wait inside than out in the rain.”

“Ahh, but not all cretins have that luxury, such as we do.” Neon sat on the other side of the bench without invitation, and without further ado, he continued, “For back during my deployment, there were many nights where my troops and I had no such shelter to seek, even out at sea. Have you ever known the cruelty of the cold of a thunderstorm in the midst of the ocean, in the dead of night?”

“...No.”

“Then you are truly lucky. For the cold was almost as unforgiving and mind breaking as--”

Nova moved to put his headphones back on, planning to tune out the old man’s ramblings.

“...Why we had nothing but the stars to guide us and use them we did!”

Nova paused. He glanced slightly at the mention of stars, and Neon took notice of this peak of interest.

“Ha! Of course, a former astrophysicist would understand the resourcefulness and awe of using the stars in such a manner.”

“I suppose.”

“Well, allow me to inform you in my naval training, I had all the key constellations memorized and how to utilize them. As grand as technology is, there are times when such tools are unavailable and every soldier must be familiar with whatever means at their disposal.”

“And pray tell how did you use these constellations to...accomplish your goal?”

“So glad you asked! Our compass and GPS had fallen out of commission, and only a handful of my troops and I were able to use the stars, as well as explain to the rest of our crew…”

For once, Nova didn’t completely detest the time spent listening to the veteran ramble on about the stars and their usefulness, and by the time he got past that part, the rest of his story was almost, dare he say, interesting. He was so occupied with Neon’s stories that he didn’t realize his ride had arrived until his and Neon’s limos honked loudly.

* * *

Neon was practically--and literally--beaming as Nova dragged his feet past the sliding doors of the Metro Division ice cream parlor. Nova’s shoulders were hunched, and if he had a face, he’d be glaring at Neon. 

“So,” said Nova. “Are you finally at liberty to tell me why you insisted on me coming all this way from my district at an ungodly hour?”

“It’s only thirteen hours, Nova, and besides, you’ll be thanking me for inviting you to this exclusive event!” He turned on his heels and sang, “Bring ‘em out boys~!”

With a puff of smoke, out of the shadows jumped the most annoying, metallic teenage boys known to Nova; 1010. All five robots posed dramatically as usual, but each held onto a plastic package no bigger than a Mr. Dodo Ice Pop.

“Why, hello there mister DJ!” said the white one. “Allow us to introduce ourselves…We. Are. The one. And only.”

“TENTEN!” sang all the other robots.

“Yes, I am well aware of who you are.” groaned Nova.

“I’m Rin,” said the white one, “And this is Haym, Purlhew, Zimelu, and Eloni!”

The green one, Eloni, added, “And you’ve already met our manager, Captain Neon J! Attention!”

At the final phrase, all five troops stood straight, clicking their heels together and saluting in perfect synchronization. It was a bit unnerving to Nova, but he was too annoyed to even view this as important.

Rin continued, “We’re practically perfect in almost every way! And popular! Perfect and popular enough to start our very own limited edition…ice cream!”

“ICE CREAM~!”

“But oh, we have a problem, Mister DJ, for we as robots--”

Nova interrupted, “It’s DJ Subatomic Supernova,”

“Ahem. Mister DJ Subatomic Supernova, for we as robots, are incapable of tasting ice cream! Alas, though we wish to grant our fans nothing less than the absolute best, we are not equipped to do so! That’s where you come in!”

“WHERE YOU COME INNNN~!”

“I beg your pardon,” said Nova flatly.

Neon slapped him on the back. “We want you to try each of their ice cream flavors and tell us what you think! After all, with all those ice pops you eat, you’re practically an ice cream expert compared to us!”

Nova pinched where his nose would be if he had a face. “Firstly, I am an astrophysicist, not an ‘expert on ice cream’. Secondly, it’s Mr. Dodo’s Ice Pops. Thirdly…” He faltered as each member of 1010 physically drooped in disappointment at the very anticipation of rejection. Eloni’s ice cream almost slipped from his pathetic fingers.

_ “These dullards...this is all ridiculous,” _ thought Nova. Sighing, he continued. “I...will regardless give feedback on your ice creams.”

“Really?!” They asked with eyes lit up like Christmas lights. 

“Yes, now hand them over before I change my mind. I’m very busy--”

All the boys jumped in the air like cheerleaders, hugging each other and Neon J with absolute glee. They almost resembled teenage girls more than boys, but, Nova reasoned, robots have no reason for the constraints of gender. Even Neon J, once free from his boy band, gave Nova a bear hug, despite his thin, tiny arms. He squeezed with such force Nova almost lost his breath.

After that, Nova went about trying each ice cream pop by each boy, colored respectively. Rin’s tasted like vanilla, Haym’s like bananas, Purlhew’s like raspberry, Zimelu’s like chocolate, and Eloni’s? That green little bastard’s ice pop tasted like jalapeno peppers. All five boys were laughing their asses off as Nova chugged down an entire water cooler’s worth of water afterward. Even Neon was hugging his stomach from laughing so hard.

Neon had a nice laugh though, so Nova couldn’t bring himself to be too frustrated at him, at least.

* * *

Turns out Neon J actually could taste ice cream, but still wanted to torture Nova. Besides, Neon could only ingest liquid substances, and ice cream pops were just too big and solid to get down what was left of his throat. Therefore, almost all of his meals involved soups or smoothies in order to obtain nutrition.

This led to Nova and Neon getting drinks every now and then. Every other week or so, it could have been coffee or smoothies or the like, but Nova found himself enjoying the times they met at a bar and caught up over alcoholic beverages in the quiet of the night. A Shirley Temple for Nova, and a hard scotch for Neon.

They’d talk shop, music, NSR politics, or simply swap stories of their past. Neon’s war stories had grown onto Nova, and Nova was impressed with Neon’s intellect when discussing his academics. Thus was what the subject turned to this evening.

“So this whole time,” said Neon, “you were planning on essentially attaching a dozen or so Bluetooth speakers to  _ the _ NSR satellite? All under Tatiana’s nose?”

“My drones are much more sophisticated than Bluetooth. And it was a small risk in the grand scheme of my plan. Besides, they wouldn’t even interfere with the NSR satellite. It would be a commensal relationship at worst!”

Neon chuckled, then sipped at his scotch through a straw. A tiny opening at the base of his monitor opened up and the tip of the straw entered, followed by the brown, bitter liquid being sucked up the straw and into Neon’s body. When he lowered his drink, the opening snapped shut. “Still, you went through all that trouble just to broadcast your music to who knows where in the dead of space?”

After a sip of his drink, Nova cleared his throat. “Just because we’ve only found life on Earth, doesn’t mean there isn’t life out there beyond our minuscule solar system. That would be like finding a grain of sand on the beach and saying the entire coast was lifeless. Furthermore, my music will be broadcast for ages amongst the cosmos, including Earth, for countless generations of humankind. I will be known for the rest of time as The Avatar of Earth, both to our planet and the rest of the galaxies in existence.”

Neon fiddled with his straw. “I suppose I can acknowledge the greatness in that endeavor. However, as a man who’s seen a good deal of life and death...I cannot help but feel your entire plan lacks a few certain somethings.”

Nova almost spat out his drink, but he simply coughed. Through the equivalent of gritted teeth, he said, “Well, as great as I am, I am open to suggestions on how to improve my already perfect plan. Do elaborate, Neon.”

“Well, for one, technology is always improving and changing. Your satellite today will be outdated before you know it if it doesn’t wear down from space debris and use first. Even the most advanced machinery breaks down eventually, and must be either replaced or fixed. And your ingenious satellite will be orbiting Earth today, but what if it’s floating beyond our solar system? It’d take quite a bit of time and trouble to fetch it. And all to broadcast one man’s music, as good as it is.”

“...I’m not sure I should be insulted or flattered.”

“You can be both.” 

“Fine, I am,” He ran his fingertip along the edge of his glass. “...but go on.”

“As I was saying, there are numerous practical challenges for your goal, which by my understanding, is for the far flung future.”

“And your point?”

“My point is though it’s beneficial to look ahead to improving the future, it’s just as vital to focus on the here and now, if not more.”

Focus on the present? Such a notion sounded preposterous to Nova, and he was ready to use his razor-sharp tongue to shoot back a comeback...yet he couldn’t bring himself to. Instead, he uttered, “Explain further, if you will.”

Neon stared into his reflection within his drink. His radar slowed, the moments passing with each dull ping of his screen. “Nova...No, DJ Subatomic Supernova.” He looked up to face a surprised Nova. “If there’s one thing I gained from my time in the war, is that the knowledge that life is fleeting. The present which contains your family, your home, your loved ones, your crew...All that can disappear in an instant. Yet the world will keep going. The sun will rise in the east and set in the west like it always does, regardless of what atrocities have occurred. Because none of it matters in the grand scheme of things. Like you’ve said, we’re just tiny specks of dust within the vast expanse of the universe. But damn if some of those specks are precious to me. Like glittering, sparkling bits of diamond dust, we are small but shine oh so bright. And they’re important, some more than others depending on who you ask. When we’re gone, our sparkle will be snuffed out, but damn if we don’t glitter and gleam as we exist. My comrades and family were the sparkles of my past...I still remember them, but now I also have more shiny specks to treasure. My boys, my district...and you, too.”

The stars in Nova’s helmet grew a bit brighter at those words. He was speechless as Neon reached over and placed a gentle, metallic hand on his shoulder. Neon’s hand was so tiny to Nova’s build, but that touch held all the weight of the world.

“What I’m saying is, be sure to treasure the present. And work hard to make the present as memorable and wonderful as possible. Even if the effect is lost within a few short generations, it is not meaningless.”

The bar was quiet, no words added to hang in the air. It would have been deafening if not for the soft music playing from a jukebox, or the dull hum of the overhead fans, or the gentle purr and pings of Neon’s machinery.

“I…” Nova glanced at his glass. “I suppose that makes sense. I’ll...take your words into consideration.”

At those words, Neon’s screen glowed a bit brighter. 

If Neon was a star, he’d be a small but brilliant green speck in the dark midnight sky, Nova thought.

* * *

Somehow one of their little meetups ended up becoming a babysitting session for Yinu. Nova still can’t remember how Neon dragged him into it, but somehow, he did. Currently, Nova was cutting off the crusts of a PB&J for Yinu’s lunch. The ingenious prodigy was such a picky eater, to Nova’s disgust. How could such a brat be an NSR artist?

Nova dropped the plate in front of Yinu. “Here. No crusts.”

“Yayyy!” she cheered before she stuffed the sandwich into her mouth.

“Y’know, the crusts aren’t poison. It won’t even remotely harm you if you eat them.”

“So wah?” She asked, spraying crumbs everywhere. 

“It’s also unbecoming to speak with your mouth full.”

Furrowing her brows, she chewed furiously, then swallowed. “Well, Uncle J doesn’t have to eat his crusts!”

“That’s entirely irrelevant. Right, Neon?”

Neon, sipping at a tall glass of water through an even longer straw, tilted his head. “Well...I suppose it is a bit unfair.”

“Hah! See?” Yinu barked, and then took another bite.

Nova held his head. “Fine, Neon. Perhaps you’d be willing to indulge me and eat the very crusts I cut off for one very spoiled little brat?”

“Hey!”

Without a word, Neon picked up the crusts, dropped them into his drink, and stirred it with the vigor of a mixer until it was a watery brown sludge. 

“Noooo Uncle J! Don’t do it!”

“IIIII’m gonna do it!”

“Uncle J, noooo!”

“IIIII’m doing it!”

“Nooooo!”

“I’m doing it right now--!” He sang before taking a hard sip. He didn’t take more than that because the next moment he was coughing, choking, his radar pinging excessively. 

“Neon, are you alright?” Nova took a step closer, intending to pat Neon’s back, but Yinu beat him to the punch. 

“I’ll save you, Uncle J!” She cried as she shoved her chair next to Neon, climbed atop it, and with her tiny arms, hugged Neon’s even tinier waist. With one good squeeze, she performed a childish Heimlich maneuver. It did the trick, and a shot of soggy bread crust shot out of the opening of his screen.

And landed on Nova’s face with a splat.

Nova froze in utter shock and disgust as brown, murky matter slid down his helmet and onto his shirt. His hands opened and closed, unsure what to do to stop the mess. He fortunately didn’t have to suffer long, for someone was wiping it all away, gently, with a handkerchief.

It was Neon, and he was doing so with a snicker. “I-I’m so sorry, soldier, I--pfft!--I didn’t mean to, I wasn’t aiming for you, I swear.”

Meanwhile, Yinu was rolling on the floor, howling with laughter. She pointed and laughed at Nova while she doubled over.

Once clean, Nova glared at Yinu. “One word to anyone about this and you’re grounded, young lady.”

Yinu was too occupied laughing to even register what he said, but Neon did. “How do you expect to ground her? You’re not her father.”

“I’ll simply tell her mother!”

“With all due respect, I doubt she’ll ground Yinu over me spitting soggy bread crusts in your face.” He snickered. “Besides, I’m sure she’ll forget all about it by tomorrow.”

“I’ll hold you to that,”

Next week, during an NSR meeting, Nova discovered that Yinu did in fact  _ not _ forget it, and the whole dang tower was gossiping about it. Nova wanted to hide in a black hole for the next millennium, but Neon somehow convinced him not to.

* * *

It was Nova who first broached the subject of a musical collaboration between him and Neon’s boys. When Neon first heard, he looked ready to punch the air. The idea excited him to no end, and he would ramble on and on about ideas. And when the idea was pitched to 1010, they all had a near-identical reaction. Like father like son, Nova thought. But by this time around, Nova didn’t find the boys’ antics quite as annoying or grating. 

They settled on a dance number where each boy would dress up as a ‘sailor scout’ of the solar system, complete with brand new sailor uniforms that practically glistened with sleekness. It was a reference to an old cartoon they were fond of, Neon explained. Though Nova didn’t completely understand the reference, the boys did make it look a bit less strange. And especially to his amazing music.

The concert was spectacular. The boys danced perfectly, the fans cheered wildly, and the lights shone oh so brightly. What Nova enjoyed the most about it, however, was how he and Neon stood side by side behind the turntable, both controlling the music. Nova with his records, and Neon with a series of wires connected between it and his monitor. No, it wasn’t perfect or flawless music in Nova’s eyes...yet the sounds, the music they made together, made him feel something deep within. He felt whole. Fulfilled. Satisfied despite the glaring imperfections.

After the concert was over, fans still refused to leave. The biggest boy band in NSR was there, after all, so the sooner 1010 left the sooner Nova could go home. However, the teenagers were occupied with more ‘pressing’ issues.

“Guys, look! LOOK~!” yelled Eloni. He practically vibrated with excitement as he held up the object of his enthusiasm; a pair of pink women’s underwear. “A fan threw their panties at me! For the first time EVERRRR~!”

“OHEMGEEE~” harmonized the rest of the boys. Then they clapped and cheered.

“Congrats, bro!”

“Hooray for underwear!”

“Good job, Eli,”

“About time someone noticed how sexy you are!”

Eloni held them tight to his chest like a treasure. Then his face went blank. “Wait, what do I do with them?”

Before the boys could answer, Neon’s bombastic voice boomed, “TROOPS, ATTENTION!”

“Attention!” the boys said as they spun in the direction of Neon and saluted.

Neon had his hands on his hips while Nova stood behind him, surveying the scene. They both noticed the panties in Eloni’s hand, but had different reactions; Neon looked ready to combust, while Nova snickered.

“Eloni, drop that garment immediately!” ordered Neon.

“But it’s my first fan panties! I wanna keep them! I get to keep them, right?”

Rin said, “Well, until Captain takes them away.”

Haym hummed. “I never understood why. Why can’t we at least use them? They’re just like briefs! But cuter!”

Purlhew pushed up his sunglasses. “Don’t worry, Eli. We’ll help you find a good hiding place for your new panty collection.”

Zimelu jumped in front of them all. “Guys, run and protect Eli’s panties! I’ll stall Captain!!”

Neon stomped his foot and squared his shoulders. “No, you will NOT! I order you to disregard any fan undergarments you have on hand, right now!!”

The boys saluted as if by instinct, but Eloni’s hand accidentally flung the underwear away…

To land square on Neon J’s screen.

“...”

Neon coughed. “Very good, troops. You are dismissed.”

“...”

“You. Are. Dismissed.”

“...”

“DISMISSED!”

Finally, the boys marched in a single file line away, but not without a few near silent snickers. It wasn’t until they were out of earshot did Nova break the silence by kneeling over laughing.

Neon flailed until he swatted the panties from his face. Then he held his hands to his screen and wheezed, “My...God that was embarrassing.”

“Th-That’s an understatement,” Nova wheezed. “Oh, I cannot  _ wait _ to tell everyone about this.”

“Why on Earth would you do that?”

“Oh come now, Neon. Then we’ll be even. Or did you forget a certain brat telling every NSR employee an embarrassing story involving me?”

“And here I thought you were more mature than that.”

“I suppose your boys are rubbing off on me.”

“Under any other circumstance, I’d take that as a compliment.”

Nova chuckled, but then placed his arm around Neon’s shoulders. “To be honest, your boys aren’t so bad all the time. And neither are you.”

Neon perked up at that. “I’ll definitely take that as a compliment. And same to you.”

“What are you talking about, are you saying you  _ don’t  _ enjoy my company all the time?”

“No, no, quite the opposite!”

There was a pause as they made eye contact. It was an odd kind of comfortable yet uncomfortable in the silence. Nova broke it and gently pushed Neon forward, arm still around his shoulders. “We should go. Shouldn’t keep the boys waiting. They’ve probably got all their laughs out by now.”

Neon began walking beside him. “We should do this again sometime. Collaborating, that is.”

“Minus getting underwear flung into your face?”

“Yes...and perhaps…” Neon’s voice lowered. “Perhaps just the two of us?”

“Without 1010?” Nova asked as he held open the door leading outside the concert hall.

“Yes, and perhaps not necessarily a concert? Just the two of us, privately?”

“...I don’t follow.” They were almost to the 1010 battleship limo.

Neon stopped. “...I mean a date, Nova.”

Nova’s heart stopped. “I...You mean...Really?”

Neon held his elbow shyly. “I understand if you do not feel the same way, and if you so wish we can pretend I never said anything and forget--”

“I-I didn’t say no!”

Neon looked up. Nova’s helmet blushed bright pink at how loud his voice was. Despite his heart feeling like it was doing acrobatics in his stomach, he managed, “I...I was just surprised. And I haven’t dated since my college days.” He pulled the hood of his jacket tighter around his face as he said, “And I’d...like that. Date, I mean. With you.”

“Really?!”

Nova nodded. His hoodie was now far too hot, yet he couldn’t bring himself to emerge from the safety of it.

Neon jumped up, wrapped his arms around Nova’s neck, and smashed his screen against Nova’s helmet. A sharp, prolonged electric shock buzzed between them.

Oh, stars.

Neon was  _ kissing _ him.

Before Nova could fully process it, Neon let him go, falling back to his feet, but hands still loosely draped over Nova’s shoulders. His radar spun wildly, pings at a higher pitch than usual. And the normal green hue had turned into a vibrant magenta. He giggled sheepishly under Nova’s gaze.

Just as Nova reached out to return the gesture, a sharp whistle cut through the air.

“Woohoo! Boss kissed his crush!” sung Rin, leaning out the window of the limo. “That’s absolutely poggers!”

“POGGERS~!” synchronized the rest of the boys.

“Oh!” yelped Nova.

“Troops!!” yelled Neon.

“Does this mean we’ll get a baby sister?” asked Haym.

“No way, we’re getting a baby brother, totally!” Zimelu barked.

“Mr. Nova, if you get back my panties I’ll be the ring bearer to your and Dad’s wedding! I even got the ring part down!” Eloni pointed to his hair.

“I call dibs on being the best man,” said Purlhew.

Rin looked ready to add on, but his face shifted into alarm as he looked further behind. “Uh...Captain?” He pointed behind Nova and Neon.

They turned around, and already hoards of fangirls were running towards the limo in droves, the pavement rumbling with the pounding of their feet and their piercing screams cutting through the air.

“Troops, buckle your seat belts! Driver, start the engine! Nova, you are dismissed!” Neon sprinted for the car and jumped through the window. Just before the limo sped away, Nova caught sight of Neon in the backseat, waving at him.

Nova felt as light as light itself and waved back, until he was trampled to near death by 1010 fangirls. But not even they could dampen his mood.

He could not wait for what the future held, satellite be damned.


End file.
